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Much Ado About Veganism

Are you a vegan? Chances are that even if you’re not, you know at least one. Even in Nigeria where our dishes rely heavily on meat, vegans, or at least vegetarians, are beginning to emerge.

So why would someone decide to one day stop eating meat and cut out all animal products from their diet and lifestyle? For one, some vegans do it for ethical reasons. Almost, if not all the vegans I know tow this line. The Vegan Society encourages people to go vegan for their health, for animals and for the environment. Some of the claimed benefits of veganism include younger looking skin and the reduced risk of contracting certain diseases such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. However, these can still be achieved with other diets.

Since I am interested in sustainability and the environment, the most important benefit of veganism would be the fact that it’s a good way to reduce our individual carbon footprints. A practical example to illustrate this would be cows. Cows produce methane which is a greenhouse gas that exacerbates global warming. Rearing of these cows also means that a lot of land is cleared and as a result, we lose carbon sinks while simultaneously releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Therefore, a vegan would not contribute to this problem.

Personally, I can understand the motivations behind going vegan and I largely don’t have a problem with it. In fact, veganism has been beneficial for me with cosmetic products and eating in non-muslim countries (can we give a shout out to vegan desserts?!?). I am also not a big meat eater (as highlighted in this post) so I think I could adopt a vegan diet sometimes (Chubbydija here: Guys, she likes her dairy products!). My main problem with veganism though is how some vegans try to force their opinions down your throat or how they seem to feel like they are on a higher level with regards to morals. One only needs to look at the interesting people at PETA to get a sense of what I’m referring to.

I also had a personal experience with a vegan when she blatantly said that protein deficiency wasn’t a thing. That rubbed me the wrong way so bad! I do have to add that after I made it known to her that kwashiorkor was a thing, she later asked if there was research she could read on the topic in order to learn.

Now, this post is not aimed at bashing veganism. I believe that there is a lot we can learn from the lifestyle and the earth will be much better for it. We really do not need to consume so much meat as it definitely isn’t going out of fashion. Our indulgences can be transferred to other aspects of life. We also collectively need to treat animals better, some videos on the treatment of cows and chickens can put one off consuming them for life.

What are your thoughts on this? If you’re a vegan, why did you choose to become one? If you’re not a vegan, would you consider becoming one? Is there anyone who’s vegan not by their own choice? Do you have a dissenting view about veganism in general? Let’s discuss! Leave a comment below dear reader. 🙂

15 thoughts on “Much Ado About Veganism”

Nice post. It’s really interesting that being vegan is now a thing in Nigeria. I considered going vegan for about a month (diet reason) but I love my animals mehn….
I also read that there is no thing as protein deficiency from a guy on IG , some vegetables and legumes have enough protein but I haven’t read further. I may consider this lifestyle again if I can come up with more food options.

Maybe try vegetarian first? For me, the vegan diet will definitely be more difficult because it cuts out all animal products: honey, milk, butter, etc. And the Nigerian diet does not really support it, especially if you want to eat out. See how meat stock is important in making jollof rice.

My colleague was saying, I believe, that not eating proteins wasn’t a problem with regards to nutrients which is not true. Maybe this guy meant that you don’t need meat to get your proteins? We all remember how our parents encouraged us to eat beans so we would grow.

It’s great that you have and may still be considering veganism! I’d be open to having a chat with you about it if every you wanted. I have been vegan for 3 years now. I agree with @msadetunji though that sometimes going vegetarian first is better than throwing yourself all in over night. It’s definitely a journey and takes time to adjust, especially if you’re going fully vegan and considering all the other factors, not just diet (clothing, products tested on animals, entertainment where animals are used etc).

With regards to the protein thing, as a vegan I personally don’t find hard to get protein at all and providing your someone that doesn’t have a load of allergies and health problems which might restrict you, you should be fine! I get a lot of my protein during breakfast from having porridge with seeds and nuts and then centre a lot of meals around pulses and green leafy veg with some whole grains. I would assume that the guy you mention meant that you don’t need to eat meat to reach your recommended target for protein. In fact research tells us that only plants MAKE protein where as animals (including humans) simply recycle it. So rather than getting protein from the flesh of an animal that is herbivorous (like a cow) and which would contain a lot of saturated fat, cholesterol and hormones, go to the source and eat the plant based foods which contain less to none of the above and has a lot more fibre and leave the animals free of harm 🙂

Aside from that I also think rhat there is a lot of benefit from veganism as a concept, especially in terms of our responsibility towards the planet…. did you ever watch that ted talk about ending the “battle” between vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters.

Here’s the link if not. It’s really good.
Anyhow even from a health standpoint I believe veganism hasvits benefits. At the same time I think it’s an extreme that can be hard to implement if you’re not living at a certain income threshold…

Ive also found that moral high ground song off putting in a way too. Not to say that this is true of all vegans, but just that as with everything whem dealing with other human beings good manners go farther than anything Has always been my experience ☺️

This is a really interesting article- really gives a lot of food for thought (pun intemsed ✨)

Interesting post, thank you for sharing! I am vegan and have been for three years. I probably have more vegan friends than non-vegan now and am witnessing just how much the lifestyle is growing in the UK. However, there is absolutely a long way to go and I applaud people cutting down meat consumption at least. I went vegan for ethical reasons but have since learned about the benefits to health and the planet. I’ve done a lot of research around all three areas including reading academic books and studies, watching documentaries, talking to others (vegan and non-vegan) and also observing my own health since changing my diet.

I think what non-vegans do need to understand about vegans who are vegan for the animals and the planet is that people are very passionate about reducing the immense suffering and cruelty to animals and protecting the planet for future generations and quite often we have to face the kind of people that love to troll and throw comments around about bacon and even going as far as saying they couldn’t give a damn about what animals go through or about anyone else on this planet. Understandably, this is going to cause emotions to run high and vegans to seem forceful in their response. I do also appreciate though that some vegans can be in your face and actually quite aggressive from the word go and from my experience of having used to be like that is that it isn’t effective in communicating the message and educating people. I get involved in a lot of activism and always approach it from a peaceful and educational way.

I also totally agree with the point you made basically saying that other diets can also cause disease and illness. A wholefood, plant based diet is the healthiest diet for your heart. I work for a heart charity and although we aren’t a plant-based charity research backing this claim up has been acknowledged. However, a vegan diet mostly consisting of processed foods, although still better than flesh isn’t necessarily doing you much good and I do think vegans themselves need to understand the difference.

I love having discussions about veganism and am always open to talking about it as long as people aren’t just there to be nasty and spout ‘Bacon tho!’ comments.

Hello! Thanks for reading and for your comment. I’m glad that you approached this as a discussion.

Like you said, I believe any diet can be healthy or not, we just need to approach everything with moderation. I just need to re-iterate that I meant that the benefits one gets from being vegan can also be achieved with other diets.

I think I understand the ethical motivations behind veganism. It doesn’t make sense that we produce so much meat and the animals have to suffer for it in cramped spaces and all that. I once saw a story where it was stated that we don’t need too much meat in our diets. If only there was a way to get everybody on board with this line of thinking.

In the end, I think the best thing is respecting others’ choices as long as they’re not hurting anyone. Explain to people why you think your way of living is right but ultimately, it is the person who has to decide for themselves what is best for them.

And I definitely understand what you’re saying about people trolling with bacon, I’m pretty sure muslims get that too.

I am taking part in fighting for theirs. Also, veganism is very good for the world and especially your health. I have started a blog called Vegan Destiny about why I went vegan, how easy it is and a lot more on the topic

Thank you for reading and leaving a comment Vegan Destiny. I agree with you that veganism is beneficial to the earth. I also agree that it is one of the good diets for good health. It’s a good thing that you found becoming a vegan easy but I can tell you that not everyone does.